This invention relates, in general, to semiconductor components and, more particularly, to semiconductor components having optical interconnects.
Semiconductor component manufacturers are constantly striving to increase the speed of their components. Because a semiconductor component, such as a micropro csur, contains up to a billion transistors or devices, the focus for increasing speed has been to decrease gate delays of the semiconductor devices that make up the semiconductor component As a result, the gate delays have been decreased to the point that speed is now primarily limited by the propagation delay of the metallization system used to interconnect the semiconductor devices with each other and with elements external to the semiconductor component. Metallization systems are typically comprised of a plurality of interconnect layers vertically separated from each other by a dielectric material and electrically coupled to each other by metal-filled vias or conductive plugs. Each layer contains metal lines, metal-filled vias, or combinations thereof separated by an insulating material. A figure of merit describing the delay of the metallization system is its Resistor-apacitance (RC) delay. The RC delay can be derived from the resistance of the metal layer and the associated capacitance within and between different layers of metal in the metallization system.
Techniques for decreasing the RC delay of a metal interconnect include: decreasing the resistivity of the metallic interconnect layers, decreasing the resistivity of the conductive plugs that electrically couple the interconnect layers to each other, decreasing the dielectric constant of the dielectric material, decreasing the length of the metallic interconnect, increasing the thickness of the metal, increasing the thickness of the dielectric material, or combinations thereof. However, the inherent physical constraints of the metal and dielectric materials limit how much they can be adjusted and still provide a semiconductor component that meets the desired performance specifications. For example, if the length of the metallic interconnect is too short, costly designs may be needed to interconnect devices while adhering to specified design rules. Or, increasing the thickness of the metal or the dielectric material may create such a non-planar surface topography that the metal interconnects become shorted or opened. Moreover, metals with low resistivities or dielectric materials with low dielectric constants may require additional processing steps that increase both the complexity and cost of manufacturing the semiconductor components.
Accordingly, what is needed is a semiconductor component having a signal transmission structure that reduces the limitations of a metal-dielectric interconnect stack and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor component.
The present invention satisfies the foregoing need by providing a semiconductor component and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor component capable of on-chip optical communication. In accordance with one aspect, the present invention includes a method for manufacturing a semiconductor component having an on-chip waveguide or optical interconnect. A semiconductor substrate is provided having a semiconductor device such as, for example, a transistor formed therefrom. A light emitting device and a light detecting device are formed from or over the semiconductor substrate and are coupled to each other via an optical interconnect. The semiconductor device is coupled to at least one of the light emitting device and the light detecting device.
In accordance with another aspect, the present invention comprises a semiconductor component having an optical interconnect structure. The semiconductor component includes a light emitting device, a light detecting device, a semiconductor device, and the optical interconnect monolithically integrated to form the semiconductor component. The optical interconnect is above the semiconductor device and couples the light emitting device to the light detecting device.